7. Business and human rights

UN Guiding
Principles

The Scottish Government, Scottish Human Rights Commission (
SHRC)
and other partners are committed to developing a co-ordinated plan
of action in Scotland to give effect to the
UN Guiding Principles (
UNGPs)
on Business and Human Rights,[46]building on the
UK's Action Plan. A
national baseline assessment was published in October
2016.[47]Further engagement activity will take place around this
evidence base in 2017, from which a process to develop a national
action plan will be initiated.

Scotland's Labour Market Strategy

Scotland's
Economic Strategy[48] sets out an overarching framework to achieve a more
productive, cohesive and fairer Scotland. It prioritises boosting
investment and innovation, supporting inclusive growth, and
maintains a focus on increasing internationalisation. Throughout
the Strategy there is a clear focus on the mutually reinforcing
objectives of increasing competitiveness and tackling inequality.
The Scottish Government has adopted this approach not just because
it ensures better social outcomes, but because there is growing
international evidence that countries with more equal societies
typically enjoy stronger, more sustainable growth over the
long-term.

Building on the
Economic Strategy, the Scottish Government's
Labour Market Strategy[49] demonstrates how a labour market that is fair and inclusive,
and that provides sustainable and well-paid jobs, is key to
tackling income inequality and addressing wider issues, including
health, crime, deprivation and social mobility. It sets out a
vision for: 'A strong labour market that drives inclusive,
sustainable economic growth characterised by growing, competitive
businesses, high employment, a skilled population capable of
meeting the needs of employers, and where fair work is central to
improving the lives of individuals and their families.'

The
Labour Market Strategy sets out the steps the Scottish Government is taking to
persuade and influence businesses of the benefits of fair and
inclusive work. It also demonstrates action to ensure that every
person, regardless of background, has the opportunity to
participate successfully in the labour market and, in turn, to
ensure that Scotland's workforce has the right skills and
attributes to meet the needs of the evolving labour market.

Promoting fair work and responsible business

The Fair Work Convention provides independent advice to the
Scottish Government on matters relating to innovative and
productive workplaces, industrial relations, fair work and the
Living Wage in Scotland. The
Fair Work Framework[50] defines fair work as work that offers effective voice,
opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect; that balances the
rights and responsibilities of employers and workers; and that can
generate benefits for individuals, organisations and society.

Scottish Business Pledge

The Scottish Business Pledge
[51] is a shared mission between government and business, with
the goal of boosting productivity, competitiveness, fair work and
employment. Businesses are not expected to adopt all nine elements
straight away. However paying the Living Wage is the core
requirement and they are encouraged to apply for formal
accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation over time.

The Living Wage

The Scottish Government has long championed the payment of the
Living Wage and the real benefits to Scotland's economy of treating
people who work more fairly. It has demonstrated its commitment by
becoming an Accredited Living Wage Employer, and by increasing
funding for the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative to
£300,000 to reach the target of 1,000 accredited Living Wage
employers by Autumn 2017.

The Scottish Government is using all the powers at its disposal
to promote fair pay and conditions. Of the four countries of the
UK, Scotland has the
highest proportion of employees - around 80% - paid the Living
Wage. Furthermore, the Scottish Government is providing the
resources to enable local authorities to commission care services
that pay care workers the full Living Wage. This will give up to
40,000 people, mainly women, doing some of the most valuable work
in Scotland, a pay rise.

Public procurement

Specific duties made by Scottish Ministers (Equality Act 2010
(Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012)
[52] include an explicit procurement duty requiring contracting
authorities to have due regard to whether both award criteria and
contract performance conditions should include considerations to
enable the better performance of the Public Sector Equality Duty (
PSED). Tools
and supporting guidance have been produced to assist contracting
authorities identify and address how they can optimise economic,
social and environmental outcomes of procurement activity
(including equality).

The Scottish public procurement regulations
[53] contain provisions to enable the exclusion of a bidder from
tendering for public contracts where it can be demonstrated it has
breached social, environmental or labour laws, including child
labour and human trafficking. The Regulations also permit a
contract not to be awarded to a bidder where it can be shown that
its bid does not comply with applicable obligations in the fields
of social, environmental and labour law, and it is mandatory to
reject a bid that has been established as abnormally low because it
does not comply with such laws.

Furthermore, guidance has been published which included model
Terms and Conditions
[54] to allow for contract termination in the event of the
contractor's failure to comply with applicable obligations in the
fields of social, environmental and labour law in the performance
of a contract. Statutory guidance under the Procurement Reform
(Scotland) Act 2014
[55] was published on 5 October 2015, providing guidance to
public bodies on how to address Fair Work practices, including the
Living Wage, when selecting tenderers and awarding contracts.
[56]

Blacklisting

The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015
[57] (higher value
OJEU
(Official Journal of the European Union) threshold contracts) and
the Procurement (Scotland) Regulations 2016
[58] (lower value contracts) require public bodies to exclude
from competition any businesses which have been found to have
breached the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations
2010, or which have admitted to doing so, until they have taken
appropriate remedial measures or a period of three years has
elapsed - the longest period of exclusion
EU law allows.

Trade Unions

The Scottish Government is strongly opposed to the
UK Government's Trade
Union Act 2016, which presents a direct threat to the rights of
workers and to Scotland's approach to industrial relations.
Particular concerns relate to the potential impact of provisions on
Article 8(1)(c) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (
ICESCR),
the right of trade unions to function freely. The Scottish
Government continues to make the case that this is unnecessary
legislation and does not reflect the true position of trade unions
in Scotland.
Working Together for a Fairer Scotland; Scottish Government
Response to the Working Together Review[59] underlines that a progressive approach to industrial
relations and to trade unionism is at the heart of a fairer, more
successful society.

The Scottish Government has established the Fair Work
Convention, which brings together trade unions and employers across
the public, private and third sectors to define fair working
practices in a Framework for Scotland. The Scottish Government
encourages staff to join and play an active part in an appropriate
trade union. Where strikes do occur, the Scottish Government has
given a guarantee that it would not employ agency staff to cover
strike action.

Zero hours contracts

The Scottish Government does not directly employ people on zero
hours contracts and condemns the inappropriate use of exploitative
zero hours contracts. Unfair work practices like this are
unacceptable and undermine ambitions to grow the economy and tackle
inequalities. The Scottish Government does, however, recognise that
the use of non-exploitative zero hours contracts can ensure
flexible support for both businesses and individuals. Stability of
employment and hours of work are important elements of fair work.
Where feasible, these forms of employment, for example direct
employment or fixed-term employment contracts, should be offered to
workers to ensure that everyone is provided with adequate security,
stability and the ability to more effectively plan for the future.
The Scottish Government has taken action to discourage the
inappropriate use of zero hours contracts:

statutory guidance around addressing Fair Work practices in
procurement

Scottish Business Pledge companies do not use exploitative
zero-hours contracts - the Pledge website
[60] highlights that they would be considered exploitative if
they caused hardship to individuals due to regularly changing
patterns of work, denied individuals their basic employment
rights, and/or deterred workers from asserting their basic
employment rights

Employability and skills

The success of Scotland's
Labour Market Strategy will be closely tied into educational reforms. Scotland's
education system, along with the range of employability and
training opportunities, must ensure that every person is equipped
with the rights skill sets and attributes.

an integrated approach across education, training,
employment and local government to reduce youth unemployment by
40% by 2021

the aim is for Scotland to respond with meaningful world
class vocational education by broadening and improving the
quality of what is on offer to young people, to produce more
work-ready young people, with the skills relevant to current
and emerging business skills needs

Scottish Ministers have committed to annual reporting on
progress: reports have been published in December 2015
[62] and December 2016
[63]

The Equalities Action Plan for Modern Apprenticeships (
MA) in Scotland
[64]

the five-year plan includes specific improvement targets
for
MA
participation by disabled people, including part-time and
flexible engagement, to be achieved by 2021. Skills Development
Scotland will report on these annually

providing young disabled people with the highest level of
MA funding for
their chosen
MA Framework
until the age of 30
[65]

newly devolved powers on employment support will be
exercised from 1 April 2017 and, following a one year
transitional service, from April 2018 a new Scottish
employability programme will be introduced

will reflect the need for effective, person-centred
services and in-work support, and will include tailored and
personalised provision for disabled people for whom work is a
reasonable objective and others who struggle in the labour
market, including women and those from minority ethnic
backgrounds

in developing the programme, the Scottish Government
consulted widely with disabled people and their
representatives, service providers and funders, and will work
to integrate much more effectively with other services in
Scotland already supporting disabled people, such as health and
social care

for disabled people for whom it is appropriate, the
Scottish Government will expect providers of employment
services to offer supported employment

The Scottish Government is working with the
EHRC to
tackle pregnancy and maternity discrimination. The Minister for
Employability and Training is chairing a working group whose remit
includes: improving employers' access to advice to ensure best
practice; developing an industry-specific communications strategy
around the benefits of positive pregnancy and maternity policies;
and strengthening health and safety advice.

The Scottish Government will work with large employers to help
women who have had career breaks back into the workplace. Equate
Scotland has been awarded funding of up to £50,000 to deliver
the first stage of activity to support women to return to work.
This 12-month project will provide at least 40 women with support
to re-enter the
STEM
(science, technology, engineering and maths) sector by offering
one-to-one guidance, career clinics and access to webinars and
three month paid placements with a
STEM
employer. The placements will focus on life sciences, digital
skills and engineering. However,
STEM
is not the only sector where women experience barriers to re-entry,
and the Scottish Government will look to develop returner
programmes in other sectors where a need is identified. These
projects will help women update skills and knowledge and smooth the
transition back into the workplace for both women and
employers.